Summary

A good game to get the family playing together.

The Good

Fuzion Frenzy has dozens of mini games, enough so that regardless of skill level there is something for every member of a family. My personal favorites are the ones involving the cage, which harken back to the old game Marble Madness. The tank levels are also good, giving a Combat feel to the game levels they are used on. The controls vary from straightforward digital type response (in the tank games, you push you go) to a very nice analog effect (in the ball and running games, speed is directly affected by the throw of the joystick). The real joy comes not from the games themselves, but from playing with friends and family. The first time I got pushed off the couch by a child leaning over to keep from falling off a platform, I realized this game had potential. We have a diverse group, from my son who games as often as he breathes, to my wife who sees games as a waste of time. With four controllers, we got the whole family going for hours, and each one of us has a game or two we excel at. For me, that is an accomplishment worthy of the asking price.

The Bad

The game is not without flaws, however. The games are all timed, and they tend to be on a short fuse, so you have to keep playing new rounds to get into them. Which brings up the next point, the load screens. When you start a game, you get a little flyby animation of the field, and then a countdown draws on screen for three seconds. Unfortunately, the countdown is used every time, regardless of whether you are starting a new game or just replaying the same game. It is amazing how long three seconds is when you want to get back to gaming. The last issue is with the camera work. Granted, they needed to make it possible to see everyone at once, but oftentimes the camera has to zoom out to such a point that the characters a reduced to miniature figures in motion. The color helps with keeping track, but I think smaller arenas would have reduced the zoom to a more visible level, at least on my 32 inch TV. Perhaps they were thinking big screen when they designed it.

The Bottom Line

Still and all, this game managed to bring the family together for some fun gaming. I would heartily recommend it to you if you need a game to convince someone to let you put the Xbox in the living room, or if you want a game you can play with your kids/parents.